Freezing and Reboots... IE8?

Greetings...

I have just finished a complete reinstall of WindowsXP SP3 on a new HDD on my system. Prior to this reinstall I noticed random freezing/lock-ups and spontaneous reboots would randomly occur... and it mostly seemed to be in Internet Explorer (ver. 8). I have finished my reinstall, with all updates, and it is happening again. On the new install it has only happened to me in IE8 (on the old install I think it happened a couple of times outside of IE8), and I was wondering if anyone else had the same issue? Is it possible that this could be hardware related? I have good components, which I have tested with 3DMark06 and 05 (repeatedly), and MEMTest (single pass). I have also done alot of CPU intensive stuff like Nero encoding, archive manipulation (7-Zip), etc., with no issue. I know I should try a whole bunch of other stuff, but I have tried another CPU (same issue occurred), and this just "started" happening recently (like around the same time I installed IE8). Other than that my hardware has remained unchanged for the last 7-8 months. I am a gamer, and rarely have issues while gaming.

My System:
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe (latest BIOS)
Athlon X2 6400+ (not OCed)
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 HSF
4GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800
XFX 260GTX XXX Edition
Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Silverstone Decathalon 850W PSU
Silverstone TJ-05 Case (21" tall, LOTS of cooling)
WindowsXP SP3 fully updated (clean install)
IE8 (fully updated, clean install)
AVG Free (updated)

Services optimized "Safe" via Black Viper
MSCONFIG streamlined to essentials

I am a 20+ year computer vet, but with a busy life and 10-year old daughter... so any time-saving help would be very appreciated. I do have another RAM kit I will try if the problem persists, but I'd rather keep the Tracer kit (Mmmm... lights).

One last thing, I am looking for help here, not peronal preference suggestions (like "IE sucks... use Firefox!")... I like the software I have, and I have been using it without fail for years (well, up to IE8 that is). Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Hi Darklighter,

It reads like it may be hardware related.

-Video card or memory is not fully compatible with the board

or

-if cpu is overclocked or memory timing has been modified in the bios, try setting those parameters to auto or default.

Techsent

 

This does read like the issue is IE-related - some kind of incompatibility maybe; there's been several other threads recently where problems seem to have occurred around the time of the upgrade to IE.

Can you check for errors in the System and Applications logs please (right-click My Computer > Manage > System Tools > Event Viewer), there may be a clue or two there.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Techsent> The hardware I am using is the same as before the problems started occuring... all settings are "stock", no OC. I guess something may have "gone bad", but if it's RAM or video shouldn't games be crashing?

Satrow> Logs have been silent... no entries for any of these events. Since there's no BSoD either, I'm a bit stumped.

 

Hi Darklighter,

Im leaning towards the vid card or memory as I couldn't find a vid card compatibility list for the board.

I did find a memory compatibility list at the asus site. It lists 2 Crucial entries with different part numbers. The memory installed may not be one of those 2.

I also noticed that the board has cooling pipes to keep it cool. This seems like a relatively new concept and may not be perfected.

In addition, the board comes with a auxiliary cooling fan for the cpu. If that hasn't been installed, it may be worth a go.

Techsent

 

I have been using this RAM for over a year... but it could be failing I guess. Same with the Video Card. The Motherboard is about 3 years old... nForce590 chipset... hardly new tech. As for cooling... I listed I have a Xigmatek cooler... which knocked 14deg off the stock cooler's temps. What your saying would normally make sense, but again, why no crashing in games/benchmarks then?

You see why I'm stumped... and suspecting IE8. I appreciate the help though, keep it coming.

 

I read ya.

I also see what satrow is saying. There's many others on the web having problems too.

I was reading up on .net framework 3.5 SP1 which adds additional support for the Microsoft's Directx and their web browser control. If it's already installed from win update, uninstall it. If it isn't, it's here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AB99342F-5D1A-413D-8319-81DA479AB0D7&displaylang=en#Overview

Also, you can try catching the memory dump or getting windows to write an entry in event viewer by disabling the auto restart option in the startup and recovery section.

Techsent

 

UPDATE: I managed to get hold of another RAM Kit to try... so far no issues/problems. I hope Crucial has a decent RMA policy. I will give a final update after the weekend... that should tell me if the RAM was the problem or not. Thanks.

PS: When I tried Crysis today (first time in a while) it was freezing in the menus... since it's very RAM intensive, I took a chance that was the problem. Weird how none of my other games had issues (Fallout 3, NWN2, R6V2, C&C RA3, etc.) and no BSoDs.

 

Hey DL,

Welcome. Sounds good.

Techsent

 

Played around all weekend, no issues.... looks like the RAM was the culprit. When I contacted Crucial they replied that the RAM I have has a voltage issue, and they will replace it with the new updated version through RMA.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

Pleased to read you've resolved the problem

Crucial are very good when it comes down to RMA.